The effect of the Brass oil war on the creation of Nigeria

In this retro series, I look back at the significant period in history when the area that would later become Nigeria was sold to Britain for £865,000. The second industrial revolution which put Britain at the forefront of technological development necessitated a huge demand for palm oil which was necessary to power industrial machines. The Niger Delta region was the world’s leading producer of this much south-after oil. The demand for palm oil and its supply was at first uncoordinated with local farmer selling to the highest bidders. Tribal leaders especially those who were former slaves who had dealings with the Europeans were influential and became wealthy due to the oil trade.

The Europeans were however at loggerhead as to which country would have preferential access to the palm oil. The formation of the United African Company by George Goldie in 1879 allowed Britain to effectively take over the Lower Niger River. By 1884, the company had 30 trading posts along the Lower Niger. This made it possible for Britain to “own” the region at the Berlin Conference in the same year ahead of the French and German. By 1886, a lot had changed and the Britain had started to make inroads into the inlands which were against previous verbal agreements that had restricted trade to the coastal region.  The Brits also started making deals with tribal chiefs and dealt with them directly. Its name was first changed to The National Africa Company and was granted a royal charter before it was later renamed to the Royal Niger Company and was soon viewed with disdain by the chiefs who felt the company had failed to honour its contract. King Jaja of Opobo became one of the rulers to start bypassing the Royal Niger Company and deal with independent marketers in Liverpool as he has been doing before. Due to his continued taxation of British traders, he was invited by a British vice consul, Henry Hamilton Johnston for negotiation in 1887. He was arrested and exiled to Saint Vincent in the West Indies. He fought his abduction and forced exile and was finally granted permission to return home. However, on his way back, he died on the ship. While some accounts claimed his death was due to his failing health, others claimed he was poisoned with a cup of tea.

King KoKo

The treatment of Jaja in the hands of the British affected the way other communities perceived the Royal Niger Company and they began to reconsider their agreements. One of those rulers to openly revolt was Koko Mingi VIII who was the ruler of Nembe kingdom. He was a school teacher who rose to the throne in 1889. He was uncomfortable with the monopoly enjoyed by the Royal Niger Company and tried to seek favourable agreements with Germans. This was however blocked by the British company which also stopped the locals from dealing directly with former markets.